Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
@SheldrickTrust • 254,452 subscribers
Pioneers in the rescue, rehabilitation & rewilding of orphaned elephants and rhinos, we actively work to conserve all wildlife and wilderness areas in Kenya.
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Eight months after she left with a wild boyfriend, Twiggy came back to say hello. She made straight for the stables, where she stooped her head to each of her former Keepers in turn. Then she was down at the mud bath with the orphaned elephants and loitering in the gardens with the smaller orphans, as though the past eight months spent roaming the wild had never happened. She is in impeccable condition and we're thrilled to have her around as long as she chooses to stay. Are you one of our giraffe adopters? Read her full update:
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust43,841 görüntüleme • 1 gün önce
In 2021, a lone young giraffe was seen trying to pass itself off as a zebra. Twiggy, as she became known, arrived in our care at just a week-old. Soon, it wasn't just zebra she called friends. Over the next four years she grew up in our care, she forged unlikely friendships with buffalo and antelope too. Not to mention the strong bonds she built with her Keepers. Then, in November 2025, she left to fraternise with a wild bull and didn't come back – until last week. From the curious infant she was in this #throwback, Twiggy is today a towering gentle giant. What it took to get her there was many bottles of milk and daily Keeper care. Can you spot the bunkbed her Keeper slept in, night after night, to keep her company? Twiggy's update:
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust40,646 görüntüleme • 2 gün önce
This handsome chap is proof that our orphans might be raised by humans, but in adulthood, this matters little to the wild elephants they encounter. Wild bulls have been arriving at our Umani Springs Reintegration Unit in recent months, drawn through the Kibwezi Forest by our ex-orphans Lima Lima and the other female elephants at Umani. During their flirtations, these bulls don't seem to mind or care about our orphans' more unusual route to the wild – the 94 wild-born calves we know of are testament to this! One of these offspring is Moon, delivered last month. Meet her:
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust22,840 görüntüleme • 1 gün önce
Ex-orphan Murera is now in the final half of her second pregnancy. Just like when she was expecting her firstborn, Mwana, there is a direct correlation between her expanding belly and her moodiness. Some days, Murera wakes up in a perfectly pleasant mood. Other days, everyone but Mwana is the enemy. She draws an invisible circle around her and woe betide anyone who dares to cross the boundary. Nurturing new life is no small feat, and we are happy to adjust our ways and our days to suit Murera’s mood. Want to learn more about our Umani orphan family? Read the latest Keepers’ Diaries:
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust15,890 görüntüleme • 23 saat önce
Goodnight, Zuri. Our newest orphan elephant at our Nairobi Nursery, fast asleep at the end of a long day. Her trunk found its way into her mouth somewhere along the way and never came out. Some habits are transcend species. Whether its why orphans suck their trunks, or if orphaned elephants respond to their names, we'd like to know: what burning question would you like to ask us, or a member of our field teams? Put it in the comments below and, over the coming days and weeks, we'll endeavour to answer as many as we can on our main feed.
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust24,657 görüntüleme • 3 gün önce
For Sulwe and Zigi, sleeping is very much a one-way street. When they settled down for a midday nap, lovely Amali stood over them, guarding the babies as they slept. But a few minutes later, when Amali wanted to take a quick siesta, the babies did everything they could to disrupt her. They clambered and crawled, tussled and tumbled, using Amali as their personal jungle gym. She seemed totally unfazed — being a nanny is tiring work, and she needed the rest! Sulwe and Zigi are all SWT ‘grandkids’ — wild calves born to orphans we rescued, raised, and reintegrated back into the wild. Learn more about the next generation of elephants born to our Orphans’ Project:
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust41,768 görüntüleme • 6 gün önce
She might only be four years old, and didn't know her own mother, but nurturing comes naturally to Muridjo: she's an excellent mini-matriarch and takes her responsibilities very seriously, especially when it comes to little Zuri. Case in point: each morning our mini-matriarch checks on the youngest orphans in their stables before the herd heads out. In June she kept our newest rescue, tiny Zuri, back from the mud wallow, standing guard at its edge – and when Pardamat knocked the little one over, Muridjo drove him off and his time-out lasted hours. Adopting Muridjo supports her care and the little herd she keeps in order:
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust24,304 görüntüleme • 4 gün önce
When orphaned animals lose their mothers, we step in to care for them. We do everything we can to help an infant settle; that might look like sleeping under the stars on a mattress with them. Or offering a finger to suckle. For orphaned giraffe Pips, grooming did the trick. From providing comfort to milk, we guide them as their lost mothers would have done until they are ready to return to the wild. Adopt an orphaned animal in our care and you can become a part of their family, helping us to provide care, comfort and protection to wildlife in need. Adopt at:
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust31,671 görüntüleme • 6 gün önce
Newborn rhinos are extremely vulnerable. They need to be shielded from even the slightest chill in the air, hence Chamboi's woollen, cherry red blanket. It was such a favourite when he first came into our care, that he flatly refused to wear anything else! Careful temperature regulation is just one aspect of raising orphaned black rhinos – a skill we've honed over decades of hand-raising orphaned black rhinos. Every detail matters when you're caring for one of the world's most critically endangered species. Meet the rhinos currently in our care:
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust988,052 görüntüleme • 7 ay önce
Why do our ex-orphans bring their wild-born calves home to the Keepers? We can't know exactly what's in their heads. But after ex-orphan Yatta first made the pilgrimage many years ago, nearly every ex-orphan mother has followed suit, and walked her newborn to the stockades, often within hours of giving birth, and introduce the calf to the people who raised her. It's likely a mix of trust (the Keepers were her family for years), safety (the stockade compound is calm and predictable), and recognition (these are the people she knows). Whether she's actively imprinting her calf with that knowledge or just following her own instinct to come home, the calf grows up understanding that our Keepers and the dependent orphans are a part of their family too. Meet our newest wild-born calf, baby Moon:
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust61,704 görüntüleme • 17 gün önce
One month after her rescue, Zuri is firmly part of the family. When she wakes up each morning, Wamata knocks on her stable door. By the time the Keepers let her out, a queue of older girls has formed, waiting to take her out to the forest each morning. This show of love has been pivotal to Zuri's recovery: orphans rescued from wells or pits often have long grieving periods, and the acceptance from the herd from the get-go has helped lessen the psychological blow she suffered at such a young age. Zuri is an abandoned elephant calf who we rescued from a septic tank. Adopting Zuri helps fund her milk, her Keepers, and her journey back to the wild:
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust63,940 görüntüleme • 19 gün önce
Peter and Brutus are on a very special mission. They're giving new rescue Richard (an orphaned eland) his afternoon bottle – and helping him settle in the process! After rescuing an orphan, we typically give them a spell of 'stable rest' so they can recover in peace and learn to trust their new family. During this decompression time, Keepers slowly introduce them to fellow orphans – in Peter's words, 'that way, they'll already have friends when they're ready to join everyone out in the bush.' Since this was filmed, Richard has joined the herd out and about, and thriving. Find out how we rescue orphaned wildlife like Bombi and Richard and protect the habitats they call home:
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust37,392 görüntüleme • 11 gün önce
When an elephant calf loses its mother, it loses everything – its family, its food source, its protection, its entire support system. That’s where our Keepers enter the picture: they spend every waking (and sleeping hour) with their charges, swaddling them in blankets when chilly, gently rubbing moisturising coconut oil onto their delicate skin, hand-picking favourite greens, scooping handfuls of mud and dust on their bodies, and gently helping them learn behaviours and habits – just as their mothers, nannies, and siblings would in the wild. Discover what it takes to be a neonate Keeper:
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust591,395 görüntüleme • 7 ay önce
It's Coconut Friday. Wangalla enjoys these weekly coconut pampering sessions enormously – so much so, in fact, that when Keeper Misheck pauses to roll up his sleeves (with an assist from Simon), she comes trundling over to see what the holdup is. Why coconut oil? It is full of healthy fats and helps condition the skin for the youngest orphans, though Korbessa, who has outgrown Coconut Friday still wheedles her way into the tradition! Little Wangalla just joined our foster program. Discover her incredible story and support her round-the-clock care through an adoption:
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust26,368 görüntüleme • 8 gün önce
Love isn't all about roses or grand gestures. At our Nursery in Kenya, it looks like a Keeper dragging a matress onto the lawn so a sleepy (yet playful!) orphaned infant elephant can enjoy a rest. In fact, elephants have a way of working themselves into your heart and this Valentine's Day, we'd love to help you find your orphan match – the orphaned elephant, rhino or giraffe whose story captures your heart. Visit to meet our herd and discover your perfect match!
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust415,004 görüntüleme • 5 ay önce
An orphan never graduates alone. Around age three, our orphaned elephants leave the Nursery for one of three Reintegration Units – and their closest friends make the journey with them. The destination comes down to an orphan's physical condition, the herd dynamics at each unit and conditions in the field. Most head to Voi or Ithumba in Tsavo East. Those unable to cover Tsavo's dry-season distances – like Murera and Sonje, whose injuries would have made that life untenable – graduate to Umani Springs, where the Kibwezi Forest's underground springs keep food and water within reach all year. Here is a flash back to our dependent herd welcoming graduates Toto, Mwinzo and Natibu earlier this year. More on how orphans reclaim their place in the wild:
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust22,027 görüntüleme • 7 gün önce
Korbessa is rarely seen without her mini-me, Wangalla. She has well and truly adopted the younger elephant as a little sister – but sisterly love only goes so far! One area where Korbessa refuses to budge is hose possession. As much as she adores Wangalla, she covets her personal water fountain even more. Little Wangalla doesn’t mind; she knows there’s plenty of water for everyone and the hose (which we know, we know, needs some patching!) is of little consequence. Little Wangalla just joined our foster program. Discover her incredible story and support her round-the-clock care through an adoption:
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust14,431 görüntüleme • 4 gün önce
Bedtime for Bumpy! Before Festus has even finished tucking him in, our little hippo is already fast asleep. Being a baby hippo is tiring work, and he’s more than ready for a restful night with his favourite Keeper by his side. Bumpy is one of our newest arrivals. His mother died, likely in a territorial fight defending her baby’s life. He spent at least a day huddled by her body before the Kenya Wildlife Service rescued him and brought him into our care. You can become part of Bumpy’s journey. Read his full rescue story and support him through an adoption:
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust42,204 görüntüleme • 16 gün önce
It's often the loudest orphans that get heard first. But there are some fascinating, albeit quieter, orphans that make up our herd too. They might not lead, trumpeting and rumbling from the front, but their presence is just as important. Alia, rescued late last year, plays and mud-bathes with the others on some days; on others she keeps to the fringes, a Keeper staying close. In June she stood up to the pestering bulls, shoving Pardamat away, tried to climb on Olomunyak (pictured here), and kept up her habit of sneaking back to the stockades for leftover pellets. Quiet elephants need just as much care as the loud ones. Support our shyest elephant through an adoption, and help fund her milk, care and Keepers:
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust15,716 görüntüleme • 5 gün önce